1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to apparatus for the re-orientation of a plurality of serially supplied items. More particularly, the presently disclosed apparatus is directed to the re-orientation of shells being fed from a stationary magazine to a gun which is variable in angle of elevation.
2. Summary of the Prior Art
There are many needs in industry as well as in the military for re-orientation of serially provided items or units. One particular use has been the provision of shells to rapid fire guns. Another use is in the canning and bottling industries, for instance, where cleaning, drying, filling, sealing, and labeling must be effected, and where such steps oten require re-orientation of a can or bottle.
In the weaponry area, technology has progressed from Gatling guns to numerous types of equipment including the development of "linkless" supplies of ammunition. One exemplary linkless system is disclosed by J. R. Christenson in U.S. Pat. No. 3,618,454. Christenson provides for a plurality of sprockets positioned on shafts that are gear driven to supply ammunition to a gun, and to return used cartridges and misfired cartridges to a separate storage area. This type of unit does not, however, provide for easy re-orientation of the position of the gun barrel in relation to the shell supply source. The result is limited motion capabilities in the gun, or great loss in space due to increased supply area requirements.
Tassie in U.S. Pat. No. 3,319,524 discloses re-orientation structure of linkless cartridges. All of the sprockets utilized by Tassie lie in a relatively planar relationship and, as a result, the cartridge is rotated along a flat plane keeping the rear of the cartridge relatively fixed and rotating the forward end over a large arc. While this accomplishes re-orientation along one plane, it necessitates the provision of a relatively large transfer unit due to its planar configuration. The fact that most of the gear train utilized to rotate the shells is provided externally to the shells also necessitates a wide flat structure. Additionally, elevational re-orientation during firing can only be effected by motion of the whole of the transfer unit, and thus further expensive and complex gearing is necessary to provide a complete unit.
Another approach utilized to re-orient shells is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,901,123 of Jayne et al. In this system, end loading is required, and the shells are transferred through a housing to the rear of the gun. The shells travel perpendicular to the gun barrel until just before loading, then are rotated on a plate. This type of system, obviously, is not suitable for systems utilizing more conventional side loading, and does not allow for rapid fire as only one shell is rotated on the plate at a time.
In the bottling industry, systems such as a cam operated lever disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,101,830 of Webster have been utilized. This type of system, however, depends on a track and is limited to a single 90 degree orientation without considerable further equipment. Sanders, on the other hand, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,090,476, utilizes a conical structure that accepts bobbins in a horizontal position, and rotates to release them in a vertical position. While quite simple, the system utilizes a gravity feed which could be deleterious to the surfaces of the items being handled, and utilizes a fixed conical structure, which, for example, is not easily adapted to feed a plurality of conveyor lines.
Thus, it appears that there is a definite need in the art to provide a material transfer unit capable of re-orienting individual items about a first axis, and even to provide them with a capability of rotating about a second axis without disturbing either the supply of the items, or the function of the re-orientation system. It is further desirable in some applications to be able to drive the transfer unit in either direction.